Playoff places decided at Canadian Direct Insurance Championship

Friday at the 2016 Canadian Direct Insurance BC Men’s Curling Championship has seen the playoff contenders emerge.

Five-time B.C Men’s champion Jim Cotter, featuring third Ryan Kuhn, second Tyrel Griffith and lead Rick Sawatsky, did not have to play on Friday after clinching a playoff spot on Thursday night. The Cotter rink defeated Team Johnson in a tightly contested game that ended 5-4. Cotter will play against Team Geall in Saturday’s Page 1 vs 2 game, with the winner getting a bye to the final.

Last year’s silver medalists, Team Joanisse, with Dean Joanisse, Paul Cseke, Jay Wakefield and John Cullen of the Royal City Curling Club, are still alive after a couple of losses earlier in the competition. They bounced back last night, beating Team Schneider 8-2. And then this morning (Friday) they dispatched Team Craig 9-0 after only three ends. They battled Team Johnson in this afternoon’s draw, earning an 8-4 win. The win gives them a chance for a C Event qualification spot, and a chance to play in the Page 3 vs 4 game. The winner of that will go on to the semi-finals on Sunday.

Sean Geall’s Royal City rink of third Andrew Bilesky, second Steve Kopf and lead Mark Olson have had only one loss on their record. They took the B Event qualification spot after defeating Team Johnson 6-2, then Team Jackson 5-1. Team Jackson, with Glen Jackson, Corey Chester, Andrew Komlodi and Joel Cave dropped to the C Event after their loss in the B Event final.

The page 3 and 4 spot winners will be decided tonight. Team Joanisse is looking for another win tonight against Team Dangerfield of Victoria. Neil Dangerfield’s rink features Denis Sutton, Darren Boden and Glen Allen.

Another Victoria team, Team Montgomery, is also still in contention after dispatching Team Ducharme 7-1 to advance in the C Event. The rink of Jason Montgomery, Miles Craig, Cameron de Jong and Dave McGarry face Team Jackson.

A total of 16 teams qualified for the 2016 Canadian Direct Insurance BC Men’s Curling Championship. The event is a triple knockout, with most teams being eliminated from the competition today (Friday).

The overall winner of the event will represent B.C. at the Tim Hortons Brier in Ottawa (March 5-13).

The semi finals and finals of this year’s championship will be televised on Sportsnet on Sunday, February 14. The semi finals will be televised at 11 a.m. on Sportsnet Pacific and the finals will be televised at 4 p.m. on Sportsnet 360.